shopping for a camera holster

Luke

Legend
Location
Milwaukee, WI USA
Name
Luke
I decided to get back into shooting DSLRs and have acquired some nice glass to go with it (read that as big and freaking heavy). 5-10 pounds worth of stuff should not be a big burden to carry around. I look around me in Wisconsin and regularly see people carrying around an extra 40 or 50 lbs with them everywhere they go :eek:.

I figure I just need something to distribute the weight better, because the neck was not designed to carry it. The Cotton Carrier Camera System makes a vest that will make me look every bit the camera dork, but who am I kidding.....if you have a 5 lb. lens attached to your camera, you look like a dork anyways.....may as well be a dork without an aching neck and back. The also make useful videos to show you how people use the products....and sometimes they are funny, as well. I got a kick out of this one so I thought I'd share.....
 
I can highly recommend Mindshift Gears Ultra Light Camera Cover.
http://www.mindshiftgear.com/products/ultralight-camera-cover
It wraps around your camera, so it's pretty much always only as big as your current camera/lens combo.
It has an integrated belt, which is great when you go "minimal". On the flipside I wish they'd make a version that attaches to any belt, so you could add a lens switch case and a water bottle (without worrying about adding extra weight on to the integrated belt).
But even with that minor gripe, it's the least bulky "holster" that I found (since it has no padding). Works great on hikes.
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I tried Peak Systems "Capture Pro" camera clip for a while, but didn't like it for hiking. It attaches to a backpack strap and hence puts all the weight unevenly back on one shoulder.
Apart from that the camera keeps dangling around on your chest, which makes me worried about putting to much stress on the camera's tripod mount.
Plus you look goofy :)
The cotton carrier vest seems to be a bit better in some respects, as the camera is dangling not right on your chest, but a bit lower down.
A big disadvantage I could imagine is that the harness gets in the way of clothing (getting a sweater/coat on and off).
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Anyway, maybe I'm just a fan of waistpacks. I sometimes have problems with my shoulders (RSI) so I try to keep as much weight off of them as I can.
 
Luke,

5-10 lbs of gear? You don't need a camera holster, you need an intervention!:D

Cheers, Jock

You know Bowling is popular in Wisconsin, right? That ladies' balls are usually around 9 lbs. (the men's are are in the 12-16 range) And they're expected to repeatedly pick them up and hurl them down the alley. This usually goes on for a couple hours.

Nothing wrong with wanting something smaller and lighter, but if I can get something better and heavier, I better use it while I'm still young enough to haul it...... LOL.
 
You know Bowling is popular in Wisconsin, right? That ladies' balls are usually around 9 lbs. (the men's are are in the 12-16 range) And they're expected to repeatedly pick them up and hurl them down the alley. This usually goes on for a couple hours.

Nothing wrong with wanting something smaller and lighter, but if I can get something better and heavier, I better use it while I'm still young enough to haul it...... LOL.

You're absolutely right: use it or lose it.

Cheers, Jock
 
Luke, you don't wanna look (or feel) like that guy. And you're not carrying TWO bodies with big-ass lenses, are you? I find a one shoulder sling type strap arrangement works fine with the Df and any of the lenses I have for it (even the heavy-ish 70-300). With a smaller prime I just cinch it up tight while I'm walking and loosen it to shoot. On the rare occasion I have a larger lens, I sometimes support the lens with my right hand. At the end of a long day, my left shoulder can get a little sore, but you're younger than I am!

BTW, whaddja get? And what lenses?

-Ray
 
LOL that video was hilarious! :D it would've been pretty silly without the gun, but with it... wow! That just takes it to a whole new level. The look on his face, and his posture before walking away, make it even more so. Do you think they were intentionally being funny? Must've been, right?
 
I've also tried the Peak design's clip, leash, wrist strap.
Black Rapid strap .........
And on and on .....
But I just keep coming back to my Billingham Hadley and home made wrist strap.
 
And you're not carrying TWO bodies with big-ass lenses, are you?

BTW, whaddja get? And what lenses?

The thought HAD crossed my mind, but no..probably not.

The kit is pretty minimal, but two of the 3 lenses are big. I have rejoined the cult of Pentax (mainly just to stay out of the Canon vs. Nikon discussions). I have my "walkaround" lens, the Sigma 50-500mm (which after a brief initial test seems to somehow cheat physics by being a 10x zoom AND be quite sharp). It also focuses fairly close and can be used as a pseudo macro around the 200mm range.

When I need something wider or when I don't feel like carrying a camera with a 5 lb. lens attached, the rest of the kit is a 17-50mm and a 70-200mm (both of them f2.8 throughout the range).
 
The thought HAD crossed my mind, but no..probably not.

The kit is pretty minimal, but two of the 3 lenses are big. I have rejoined the cult of Pentax (mainly just to stay out of the Canon vs. Nikon discussions). I have my "walkaround" lens, the Sigma 50-500mm (which after a brief initial test seems to somehow cheat physics by being a 10x zoom AND be quite sharp). It also focuses fairly close and can be used as a pseudo macro around the 200mm range.

When I need something wider or when I don't feel like carrying a camera with a 5 lb. lens attached, the rest of the kit is a 17-50mm and a 70-200mm (both of them f2.8 throughout the range).

Yeah, that's pretty big gear. Even with a full frame DSLR, my basic rule of thumb is that if it doesn't fit in an Ona Bowery, I'm not carrying it around for any length of time. A Bowery will handle the Df with 4-5 small-ish primes or 2-3 smallish primes and my one general purpose zoom (24-120), or some slightly reduced combination of the above with the Nikon A. I have a couple of large-ish lenses, but they come out for specialty shooting, not for typical walk-around shooting.

If I was carrying the really BIG gear, I'd probably move to Nepal and try to hire a Sherpa... But I probably won't get there - I don't like big gear... Even my 70-300 f4.5-5.6 is more than I like to use very much and it's about as small as you can get with a full frame telephoto of any reach...

-Ray
 
I use this setup when out for a while. With my old NEX-3.

Works vertical with a moderate sized lens and horizontal with a small prime.


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